American legend Chris Evert said she was 'incredulous' at Maria Sharapova's team failure to know the dangers of taking the now infamous Meldonium.

There is still consternation within the game that the Russian's massively experienced back up team of coach Sven Groeneveld, trainer Yutaka Nakamura and physio Jerome Bianchi, could not have been alert to the drug's change of status on January 1.

'She has such a very comprehensive and very professional team. For everybody in the tennis world, Maria is the last person we'd expect this to happen to,' Evert told ESPN

Tennis player Maria Sharapova addresses the media regarding a failed drug test at the Australian Open

Chris Evert said she was 'incredulous' that Sharapova's team didn't know she was taking Meldonium

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Her lawyer, John Haggerty, suggested that she may try and get a reduction in her ban by applying for a retrospective TUE (Therapeutic Use Exemption).

These are commonplace – too commonplace, many would say – for players needing specific medication for a condition that may contravene doping regulations.

They are especially difficult to obtain after the event, but Sharapova will not lack for top legal experts backing her case. 'Maria and I are looking at all the options,' Haggerty said to the New York Times.

The Russian tennis icon speaks at her press conference on Monday, where she announced the news

Sharapova's management denied suggestions from sources within the game that the expertise they were seeking extended to formally using the services of former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer.

They said he had not advised on her stage-managed confession on Monday night that she had failed a drugs test.

Flesicher's company had a spell for working for Tiger Woods in his attempts to return to the golfing world, and lists the Women's Tennis Association among his clients on his website.

WHAT IS MELDONIUM?

Meldonium (file picture above) was a medicine Sharapova took for 10 years but it became a prohibited substance on January 1

Meldonium, also known by the commercial name Mildronate, was added to the new banned list of drugs last year, which came into place on January 1, 2016.

The drug was added to the list because the World Anti-Doping Agency said there 'evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance.'

WADA had been observing Meldonium in 2015, adding it to its 'monitoring programme' to determine its effects on athletic performance.

It is used medically to treat ischemia, or a lack of blood flow. It can be used as a metabolic enhancer to increase endurance through greater blood flow.

The Institute of Biochemistry - Center for Preventive Doping Research, German Sport University Cologne said of the drug: 'Anti-ischemic drug Mildronate demonstrates an increase in endurance performance of athletes, improved rehabilitation after exercise, protection against stress, and enhanced activations of central nervous system (CNS) functions.'

Sharapova said she has been taking the drug since 2006 to aid in a variety of health problems.

On December 22 of last year, WADA sent out an email indicating what drugs would be banned starting in 2016 and Sharapova conceded that she received but did not read that email.

Evert struck a different tone from her old rival Martina Navratilova in being critical of Sharapova, and it was also different from the sentiment expressed by Novak Djokovic in a snatched interview.

The American legend, taking her cue from what she has heard privately and the radio silence from many players on social media, said, 'I'm not seeing a lot of support from a lot of players.

'I think everyone is being mum right now. Whether it's shock or whether they don't want to get involved. It's sort of surprising that not a lot of players have shown their support for her.

World number one Novak Djokovic has thrown his support behind Maria Sharapova after her doping admission

'It's hard to tell because Maria has always isolated herself from the rest of the tennis world. She doesn't have a lot of close friendships on tour. She's made that known, she can't be friends with other players.

SHARAPOVA'S TITLES

Australian Open 2008

French Open 2012, 2014

Wimbledon 2004

US Open 2006

WTA Tour Finals 2004

Olympic silver medal 2012

'To me it's a good warning to all the superstars that they mean serious business and that the sport is not protecting you if you're bringing in money for the sport, if you're bringing in ratings, it doesn't matter who you are.'

Not for the first time Djokovic did not appear to take a strong line on a doping matter when asked about how he felt over the Sharapova issue.

'I obviously wish her all the best,' he told the TMZ website. ' I've known her for a long time. I feel for her with all that's happening and I just hope she gets out of this stronger.'

Amid Sharapova's loss of sponsors came support from Oleg Tinkoff, owner of the Tinkoff cycling team, who said he would like her to promote his eponymous bank, accusing western companies of 'hypocrisy' in deserting her.

While Sharapova sent a note of thanks to her fans via Facebook on Wednesday night, former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova was expressing limited sympathy for one of her rivals.

'Of course it's not great for her,' said Kvitova. 'I think something we all should know is what we are taking and what we putting into our bodies.'

Asked whether she had checked notifications about banned substances she replied simply: 'I have my vitamins so I don't need to check it, so I'm not reading that.'

Heather Watson followed up her Monterrey Open title win with a first round victory at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells on Wednesday night over Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboeva 7-6, 4-6, 6-1.

Heather Watson was on court in Indian Wells just three days after winning her third WTA title in Monterrey

Afterwards, the British No 2 revealed how careful she is with any of the occasional supplements she takes.

Watson said: 'I’m very cautious. I don’t like to take supplements so I don’t that often. When we’re travelling for example, like in China, you have to be careful with what you eat.

'When I am going to take something, I always get it tested first. I remember one year I got tested like 16 times, one week I had three tests in a row, this was the year I was coming back from mono, I guess they had me on high alert or something.

'I’m tested all the time so I am always cautious, I would never want something to hurt my career like that.'